Is Josh Heupel Facing New Expectations Under Expanded College Football Playoff?

National media outlet claims Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel is under new expectations under the expanded college football playoff format.

Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel is seen on the sidelines during the Citrus Bowl NCAA College football game between Tennessee and Iowa in Orlando, Fla., Monday, Jan. 1, 2024. / Saul Young/News Sentinel / USA TODAY

National media outlet claims Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel is under new expectations under the expanded college football playoff format.

College football will be introducing a major change this season as the 12-team playoff format will be at play for the first time. It's a major step up from the original four-team format and it will require some adjusting this year. The expanded playoff is great in the sense that more teams will have the opportunity to make the playoffs, but for some head coaches, it might actually add some extra pressure to their job.

In the four-team playoff format, it almost felt a bit over a stretch to say a team had to make the playoffs that season. Just last season Georgia went undefeated in the regular season and lost one game and Florida State went 13-0 and neither one of those teams made the playoffs last year. Now that there is a field of 12 though, there are expectations that some teams should always be one of the best 12 teams in the country, and Tennessee is among that mix right now.

CBS released an article detailing which head coaches in college football will be dealing with new expectations in the expanded playoff and Tennessee's Josh Heupel was on the list. Here is what the article said:

"Tennessee is the only program on this list without multiple New Year's Six appearances, but the 2022 Orange Bowl win against Clemson did come under Heupel's guidance. That season represented a true breakthrough moment that changed expectations for the Volunteers. Heupel faces the same challenges as the rest of his SEC colleagues in navigating a schedule that includes multiple national title contenders, but Tennessee is also recruiting and developing in a way that suggests the standard is to keep pace. If we were entering eight more years of the four-team playoff era, Heupel could potentially run off 10-win seasons every other year, making numerous New Year's Six bowl appearances and staving off any real pressure given the outlook and probabilities involved with a four-team bracket. In a 12-team format that will potentially have three or four bids available to SEC teams, however, Tennessee will be expected to compete for an at-large spot if it's not playing the SEC championship."

The Volunteers came close to a playoff bid in 2022 had they not let the wheels fall off at the end of the season. Since Heupel's arrival in Knoxville, there has never been an expectation that Tennessee has to make the playoffs, but with the playoff expanding this year and the expectation that it will only continue to increase, those expectations might change.

Other Tennessee News:

• Travis Smith Jr Sets Commitment Date
• George MacIntyre Accepts Invitation To Elite 11
• Josh Heupel Details Importance of 2022 Alabama Victory

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